The Choreographic Shindig was created in 2015 to give our dancers the power to choose which choreographers would set work on them. This unique program helps us achieve our mission to provide a platform centered around choreography and dance for artists to explore their craft through innovation and collaboration. We are the only company in the region with this kind of program. For our 4th Choreographic Shindig dancers have selected artists hailing from New York, Chicago and Puerto Rico: Brendan Duggan, Co-Founder and Co-Director of LoudHoundMovement (LHM), a contemporary dance collective based in Brooklyn; Alice Klock, Hubbard Streets Choreographic Fellow in 2017 and one of Dance Magazines 25 to watch in 2018; and Omar Román De Jesús, The Dance Gallery Festival and Reverb Dance Festival award winner.

All three choreographers are new to Whim WHim and were selected via a competitive application process. In April 2017, Whim WHim posted an international call for choreographers to apply to the WWCS. The company received close to 200 applications from all over the world and from choreographers ranging in experience and diversity. Guest choreographers will work with the dancers in the studio for eight-week residencies that culminate in 7 performances of a 90-minute split bill program at the Erickson Theatre Off Broadway on September 7-9 & 12-15, 2018.

ABOUT THE ARTISTSWhim W'Him company dancers for the 2018/19 season are Liane Aung, Cameron Birts, Jane Cracovaner, Adrian Hoffman, Jim Kent, Mia Monteabaro and Karl Watson.

Olivier Wevers, Artistic DirectorDedicated to creating works of artistic innovation and collaboration, Brussels- born Olivier founded Whim W'Him in 2009. Before establishing the company, he was a principal dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. His awards and recognition include the Princess Grace Foundation Choreography Fellowship, the City of Seattle Mayor's Arts Award, the grand prize award for an unprecedented two years in a row at the annual Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival in California, and the ArtistTrust/ Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship Award. He participated in the National Choreographers Initiative and the prestigious New York Choreographic Institute. Olivier has created works for companies and festivals around the world, including Pacific Northwest Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Grand Rapids Ballet, Northwest Dance Project, BalletX, Spectrum Dance Theater, Prix de Lausanne, White Bird's 4x4 Ballet Project, and Dance the Dream Seattle.

Alice Klock, ChoreographerAlice Klock trained at numerous ballet company schools, Interlochen Arts Academy, and the Alonzo King's Lines BFA program. She joined Hubbard Street Dance Chicagos second company in 2009 and was promoted to the main company in 2011. Alongside performing she has created choreographic work for Hubbard Street, SALT Contemporary Dances LINK Festival, The Nexus Project, Loyola University, Neos Dance Theater, Visceral Dance Chicago, and NW Dance Project's LAUNCH. She has been a winner of numerous choreographic competitions including Hubbard Street's International Commissioning Project, NW Dance Project's Pretty Creatives International Choreographic Competition, and Whim Whims Choreographic Shindig. She was named Hubbard Street's Choreographic Fellow in 2017 and one of Dance Magazines 25 to watch in 2018.

Omar Román De Jesús, ChoreographerOmar Román De Jesús (San Juan, PR) began his formal training at School for the Performing Arts in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. Omar was a member of Balleteatro Nacional de Puerto Rico from 2006-2011. During this period, he won the Championship Cup and Gold Medal at the National Dance Competition in Puerto Rico. He received scholarship to the Ailey School in 2011. He performed at Parsons Dance and Ballet Hispánico where he did works by Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, Robert Battle, Trey McIntyre, Kate Skarpetowska, Michelle Manzanales, Tania Peréz-Salas, Carlos Pons and Ephrat Asherie. Omar's choreography has been recognized for its originality, and he has been praised for his ability to craft an emotional arc. He has received awards from The Dance Gallery Festival and Reverb Dance Festival. He has been commissioned by Steps Repertory Ensemble and Instituto de Cultura de Puerto Rico. Omar's new work, DANIEL, was commissioned by Parsons Dance for the company's 2017 Joyce season as part of its initiative to support emerging choreographers through David Parsons' GenerationNow Fellowship. He was one of the winning choreographers for the Joffrey Academy of Dance's 8th annual Winning Works Choreographic Competition.

Brendan Duggan, ChoreographerOriginally from Amherst, New Hampshire, Brendan Duggan is a Brooklyn-based dancer and choreographer who has been creating original works since 2010. He holds a BS in Dance from Skidmore College, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. Throughout his performance career, he has had the pleasure to perform with artists such as Deganit Shemy, Gallim Dance, Danaka Dance, Loni Landon, Danielle Russo, Emily Terndrup, Third Rail Projects The Grand Paradise, and most recently, Punchdrunks Sleep No More. As a choreographer, Duggan was a Co-Founder and Co-Director of LoudHoundMovement (LHM), a contemporary dance collective based in Brooklyn. While directing LHM, Duggans choreographic work has been presented at The CURRENT SESSIONS, The Playground AfterDark, The Freight Project, The Dance Gallery Festival, FAB! Festival NYC, Gowanus Art + Production Presents!, Hoover Dam Collective, The Creator's Collective, Inception to Exhibition (ITE), Dixon Place, Pushing Progress Showcase, Springboard Danse Montreal (QC), Place des Arts (QC), APAP at the 14th St Y, the Excognito Dance Festival, Gibney Dance Center, Leona Wagner Black Box Theater in Salt Lake City, The Brooklyn Brewery, The Center for Performance Research, and Western Michigan University. In addition, Duggan has served as a faculty member at Peridance Capezio Center and Gibney Dance as well as a guest artist at Western Michigan University, Brigham Young University, Skidmore College, Marymount Manhattan College, The Pointe Academy, Creative Arts Academy, among others.